


Of life changes and soulmates

by lookslikepatricia



Series: Of stuff and soulmates [2]
Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Already tagging it because I try to write fun stuff and people end up suffering, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Hyojong and Yanan are here, Jinho/Hongseok is the background couple, Light Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Probably a bit messy, Secondary characters from Pentagon and other groups, Still don't have fun tags to add, This one has basically no magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:26:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookslikepatricia/pseuds/lookslikepatricia
Summary: In the middle of his university struggle, Jung Wooseok becomes close to the new Japanese exchange student Adachi Yuto and his cute dancer boyfriend and soulmate, Kang Hyunggu. He soon starts to fall for both of them and the drawing that becomes more apparent every day in his body just makes everything more complicated.
Relationships: Adachi Yuto/Jung Wooseok, Adachi Yuto/Jung Wooseok/Kang Hyunggu | Kino, Jo Jinho | Jino/Yang Hongseok, Jung Wooseok/Kang Hyunggu | Kino
Series: Of stuff and soulmates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842940
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm back with a new story from our favorite soulmate universe (and this time for Universes).  
> And this time I'm putting Pentagon's maknae line in a very tricky situation, but let's face it. How do you separate them?  
> Still, this story is mostly self-indulgent, but I really hope you guys like it.

It was a night like any other. There were a few clients in his tteokbokki stand and rush hour hadn’t been that busy. Wooseok was spending his time chatting with his most regular client, Cha Sunwoo. He and his roommate, Lee Junghwan, started coming around as soon as they moved into the area a few years before, when his grandmother still ran the stand by herself and Wooseok would go there after class because he didn’t have anything to do at home, way back in middle school. As he got older, he started helping her out without being asked to and something about the way he saw people relying on his grandmother, even if it was just to have a warm and spicy late-night snack, made him feel very proud of the work they were doing there every night.

“How is your grandma?” Sunwoo asked, between two bites.

“She is doing alright...” He answered, restocking ingredients. “Not being out in the dew every night improved her immunity a lot. But she misses this.” Wooseok moved his arms around to indicate the stand. “She is always complaining that she doesn’t have anything to do at home.” The client chuckled.

“I miss her too. Not having a wise old lady to talk to has made my life very hard.” Wooseok looked at him, not sure about what Sunwoo’s words made him feel. “No, offense, but you aren’t the wisest tteokbokki seller in Seoul.”

“But you still come every other night…” He complained, trying not to sulk. Grandma always told him not to mind that particular client’s roughness. Some people used harsh words to feel less vulnerable. But it made Sunwoo chuckle again and Wooseok felt his face warm-up, from anger. He turned around and took it off the beanie he would usually wear while working to prevent hair falling down at the food he was going to serve, messing it a bit trying to relieve the itchiness he had been feeling on his scalp, before putting it on again.

“So, Wooseokie, what’s up with the pink hair?” The client asked as soon as he turned back to him, full smug expression in place. “Trying to impress someone special?”

“What? No!” Wooseok answered, too quickly and desperate to fool anyone. Noticing that, and Sunwoo’s expression becoming even smuggler, he breathed deeply and put on his more aloof façade. “I was hanging out with a friend and we got bored.”

“Wait, a friend?” The other asked, genuinely surprised. “Didn’t know you had any.”

“Oh, wow, thanks, hyung.” He said, full of irony and sulkiness. “I have friends.”

“You do? Who?”

“Shinwon hyung.” Wooseok said, simply.

“You never talked about him before!” Sunwoo interjected. “How would I know?” The conversation got interrupted by another client making his order. While Wooseok worked on it, the other observed him, showing that he wouldn’t get away so easily. And as soon as they could continue, Sunwoo asked. “Was this Shinwon guy who dyed your hair?”

“No, that hyung is too busy. I think it’s been over a month since the last time I saw him.”

“Then who did?”

“Why do you want to know?” Wooseok said, suspiciously. The other wasn’t the type of person who was very interested in personal affairs.

“I need a distraction from Junghwan’s mess.” He answered, suddenly looking very tired. It made the other feel almost sorry for him.

“His name is Kang Hyunngu.” The vendor said, hoping the warm feeling spreading on his face was from the heat from the stove.

“And?” Sunwoo raised one of his eyebrows, starting to be very amused by Wooseok’s antics.

“And what, hyung?” He asked, getting more and more flustered.

“Come on, Woosoekie, give me details.” A wicked smile appeared on Sunwoo lips and the other sighed. Talking about Hyunggu, and sometimes just thinking about him, made his palms get sweaty.

“He is very nice.” The client’s smile grew and nodded to him. “And cute.” Wooseok suddenly felt like a fly caught in a spider web, but he didn’t know how to stop now. “And very pretty.”

“And you are blushing.” Sunwoo teased him and the vendor covered his cheeks with his big hands.

“No, I’m not!” He whined as the other laughed.

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

“Stop or you are going to have to pay for the food today!” Wooseok exclaimed, gathering all the authority he could and Sunwoo laughed again.

“Ok, fine. No need to threaten me.” He said in between laughs. “So, how did this very pretty friend of yours and whom you have a huge crush on convinced you, Jung Wooseok, master of black clothes and intimidating looks made by bold lines of eyeliner, to dye your hair pink?”

“He didn’t.” He said, feeling his face warm-up more. “He was dying Yuto's hair green and asked me if I wanted to do it too.”

“Wait, who is Yuto?”

“His boyfriend,” Wooseok answered, nonchalantly.

“His boyfriend? Does he have a boyfriend?” Sunwoo aksed, completely taken aback and he just nodded. “Sorry, buddy.” The other said, extended his arm over the counter to pat his shoulder.

“Why?” The vendor questioned him, confused.

“Well, your crush has a boyfriend. That must be tough.” The client retreated his arm back and went back to eating.

“I don’t have a crush on Hyunggu.” Wooseok affirmed. “And Yuto is my friend too.”

“Where did you suddenly get all these friends I never heard of?” He said, curious.

“Statistics II.” The vendor shrugged. “Also, you guys never ask about my life.”

“Because I thought you only played video games.” Wooseok took out his beanie again, thinking about how he could argue back to the other when he wasn’t wrong.

“Fair...” But before he could say anything else, Junghwan quietly sat beside Sunwoo and ordered some food, seeming gloomy.

“You are not gonna believe this. I just found out about…” The client started, only to be interrupted by the other.

“Don’t wanna know”.

Wooseok and Sunwoo exchanged looks, giving Junghwan space to stress eat for a while. But seeing someone eat four portions of tteokbokki in the span of half an hour scared the vendor and he refused to serve him any more food for the night. From there, the night went downhill with Junghwan venting about his love life and very confusing soulmate situation while Sunwoo tried to be the voice of reason for his roommate. It all made Wooseok feel mushy inside but also quite lonely. He didn’t have people like that in his life, people he could just whine and unwind any time he wanted to. And while he closed for the night, it also made him think about something he usually didn’t and his hand automatically scratched his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again, right?  
> For those who came from Of sweets and soulmates, thank you for embarking with me on this new journey and I hope you enjoyed the cameos (and yes, this is what happens before Junghwan came to the stand in [chapter 12](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22054816/chapters/61624591)). And for is starting in this fic, welcome! It's going to be messy and hopefully fun.  
> This series and the stories that are coming from it have a special place in my heart and are helping figure out where I stand in life, so any interaction with it is appreciated.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyunggu has an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everybody who read the first chapter and warn you guys that I suck at summaries.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Throughout the next morning, people kept looking at Wooseok. It didn’t matter if it was during class or in the corridors, there was always a stare on him. He wondered if he should be so bothered by it since it was something that happened to him constantly. Passing the 1,80m in the first year of high school meant, for him at least, having people looking at him in shock all the time, especially now that he had stopped growing so close to 1,90m. But the looks still made him feel out of place and awkward, so he made himself even smaller than usual until he was somewhat safe in the back of his last class that morning. At least he could see that Yuto was going through the same when he entered the classroom a few minutes before their professor, as uncomfortable as himself with unwanted attention.

“Does everybody keep on looking at you?” The Japanese asked in a hushed voice while sitting at Wooseok’s side.

“They do…” He said, vaguely.

“I knew it was a bad idea, but Hyunggu was making those puppy eyes and pouting.” Yuto sighed, but everything about his posture exhaled fondness. “I couldn’t say no to him.”

“I get it…” Wooseok answered and his friend gave him a small grateful smile for understanding.

The class started not much later and he tried to pay attention to whatever their professor was talking about, but his focus slipped and suddenly Wooseok found himself in that same awake state he would usually be in during classes. No matter how hard he tried to learn all of those economic terms and definitions, his brain just didn’t absorb them. And very soon he would be thinking about his tteokbokki stand, making lists of what he needed to restock or which new drinks he should try selling there. Or, when he would be particularly tired, he would just have a completely blank mind. Anything was better than paying attention.

And it was during one of those moments of absence that he met Yuto. Having survived his first year of university, Wooseok started the second promising himself that this time would be different. If Shinwon could balance a modeling career and all these boring classes about money and rich people discussing how to become richer, he could focus and not struggle to barely get passing grades again. But as soon as his first Statistics class started, he turned off trying to mentally beat a particularly challenging phase of the new Call of Duty. He only came back to reality when he felt someone tapping his shoulder. Turning back, Wooseok was met by a strong gaze on small eyes, a straight nose bridge, full lips, square jawline and a deep voice with an accent he couldn’t place from where it was asking him about a term he had no idea about its meaning and who he never had seen around before. It took a few interactions like that with the new exchange Japanese student, as he found out later, for him to warm up to the other. And a few months into their friendship Yuto admitted to him that he kept sitting close and asking him because he looked like the only one that wouldn’t laugh about his not so proficient Korean.

“Dude, you really need to stop daydream like that during class…” The Japanese told him as soon as they left the classroom to have lunch. “Professor Choi keeps glaring at you.”

“I know…” Wooseok whined, embarrassed. “But it just happens. I don’t know how to stop.”

Yuto gave him a sympathetic smile and they walked together to the cafeteria closest to the Performing Arts building to meet Hyunggu. Becoming friends with the Japanese student had brought the brightest smiles and cutest pout Wooseok had ever seen incarnated on his dancer boyfriend, Kang Hyunggu, who had introduced himself in the first time the three of them had lunch together as Kino, his stage name as a backup dancer, and told him almost no one called by his first name, what was more of his wishful thinking than reality. So Wooseok started calling him Hyunggu just so he could see his expression fall a bit and then go back to sunshine embodied. Teasing him was too easy and rewarded him with the most adorable expressions the dancer could do and, for the first time in his life, Wooseok became close to people his age.

They found Hyunggu already at the cafeteria sitting with one of his many friends, a graduate sports medical student called Yang Hongseok, who would sometimes eat with them, as apparently, that was the only free time he had to see anyone. His presence would always make Wooseok and Yuto quieter than usual, not that it made any difference to the conversation. Hyunggu and Hongseok could talk until the end of the world by themselves. So they sat with them quietly, being greeted by one of the most stunning smiles the dancer could give while he hooked his hand on his boyfriend’s. Very quickly the subject of the conversation became clear for the newcomers.

“Hyung, you always complain that you don’t have time for anything. I don’t get why you keep on going about dating.” Hyunggu said, looking genuinely confused.

“You don’t get it because you have a whipped boyfriend who moved countries for you,” Hongseok complained, but what he said made Yuto and Hyunggu look at each other and smile brightly, and he became saltier watching them. “I bet Wooseok understands me, right?” The older looked at him hopefully and he just shrugged, not wanting to be included in the conversation. Hongseok glared at him but continued talking. “If Yanan can do it, what not me?”

“Yanan hyung is dating the kindest and most patient guy in the world.” The dancer replied. “Unless you’re planning to break them up and date Changgu hyung yourself…”

“I could never do that…” Hongseok whined. “Not with them being soulmates and all…” He sighed and finished eating. “Why is it so hard finding a cute boy to fall in love with?” The older got up from the table and only received sympathetic smiles before leaving.

“He still wants to date someone?” Yuto asked, with a neutral expression.

“I don’t think it is just the dating part that hyung wants.” The dancer answered, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. “He wants to fall in love and find his soulmate. And he is getting more and more anxious.” Hyunggu sighed looking straight to Wooseok. “Like he is getting too old to find his soulmate.”

“Is that a thing?” Wooseok questioned and the couple exchanged looks.

“I don’t think so…” Hyunggu replied and there were a few seconds of silence.

“You could go out with him, Wooseok,” Yuto said, sounding serious but with a hint of amusement on his eyes. His boyfriend took his head off his shoulder and looked from one to the other, eyes opened in shock.

“You can’t be actually considering it, right?”

“I’m not, don’t worry, Wooseokie…” Hyunggu smiled at him, who breathed relieved. “Hongseok hyung likes short and cute boys.” He didn’t know if he should feel hurt by his commentary or by the way his Japanese friend was laughing discreetly. “Not that you’re not cute, but…” The dancer completed, worried he had made Wooseok upset. “You’re just not his type.”

“Oh, right, I got that…” He responded, completely caught off guard by the dancer’s sympathetic remark.

“Someday you are going to find someone who loves and appreciates the amazing person you are, Wooseokie. Just like Yuyu and I.” The dancer continued, reaching to pat his hand lightly.

“Don’t call me Yuyu in public…” Yuto whined and Hyunggu giggled, bringing both his hands to his boyfriend’s cheeks and squeezing his face while repeating the nickname a few times while the Japanese tried to make him stop, blushing very hard. It was an endearing scene to watch that made Wooseok have mixed feelings, like most things the couple did. He would always feel a wave of affection for the couple while being with them, but also a bit of loneliness and envy, mostly because he never had what they had. And he may have imagined a few times, before going to bed, being the one who Hyunggu gave silly pet names and squished freely.

“Anyway…” The dancer went back to talking, taking Wooseok out of his cringe-worthy daydream. “What Yuyu said gave me an idea.” Yuto sighed again and the other two grinned, amused. “What do you guys think about Jinho hyung?”

“Who?” Wooseok asked, trying to remember which of Hyunggu’s friends he was referring to.

“What about him?” The Japanese questioned, confused.

“He is short and cute…” The other answered like his thought process was obvious but it only made Wooseok figure out who the dancer was talking about. He had only met Jinho once when he had dropped by Hyunggu’s dorm to return some accessories he had borrowed for an audition while Yuto and Wooseok were trying to beat Legend of Zelda in an afternoon one more time. “He is totally Hongseok’s hyung type and as busy as him. They would be perfect together.” Hyunggu started to become excited as he talked. “How have I never thought about it?” He then looked to Yuto and Wooseok, expecting an answer, but both shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I thought about it now. I just have to introduce them.”

“They don’t know each other?” Wooseok questioned while the dancer seemed deep in thought.

“I don’t think so…” Yuto answered, as disoriented as the other felt. “I’ve never seen Hongseok hyung outside of uni.”

“He is too busy to hang out like a normal person,” Hyunggu said, still thinking. “Maybe I can create an opportunity to introduce them. Maybe something that doesn’t seem planned…” The other two exchanged looks. “I know Hongseok hyung doesn’t have class or work on Thursday nights. If I call him to have a drink, I don’t think he would say no…”

“Do you have to think about it out loud?” Yuto asked his boyfriend, who pouted to him.

“You know it helps me see things more clearly…” The dancer answered, still pouting, and Yuto's expression changed quickly to desperation. He wasn’t very good at dealing with Hyunggu’s more sensitive side.

“Sorry, babe…” Wooseok cringed at the pet name, but the other nodded and smiled weakly at the Japanese.

“So…” He continued, looking just at their friend. “I just need to invite Jinho hyung too. But he won’t come alone…” Wooseok nodded to encourage him, who gave him a small smile in return. “But he will if Hui hyung comes. And if he comes, then Hyojong hyung tags alone. He never says no to drinking.” He looked expectedly to the other, who nodded again, making Hyunggu’s smile grow. “But it is not fair if Jinho hyung has his friends and Hongseok hyung doesn’t, right?”

“Sure…” Wooseok said and the dancer seemed pleased.

“I can invite Yanan hyung and Changgu hyung too, then.” The dancer looked this time at his boyfriend, who smiled awkwardly. “Yuyu doesn’t have any other friends to invite, so you need to come, Wooseok. And you can bring a friend too…” Hyunggu turned to him, excited again.

“Actually, I can’t…” The dancer's expression dropped and for some reason, it stung Wooseok’s heart. “I have work…” He said, apologetically.

“Oh, right…” Hyunggu laughed, embarrassed. “I forgot.”

“But you guys can meet up at the stand. Just give me a heads up to restock the beer and the soju.”

“That’s a great idea!” The dancer exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “And everybody can finally meet each other. You’re a genius, Wooseok.”

He blushed with Hyunggu’s complement and the dancer cooed at him, making Yuto laugh quietly for his boyfriend's antics. Wooseok felt very proud of himself for helping the dancer and making him smile like that, not thinking much about how sweaty he suddenly felt too. He tried to play his reaction being caused by him having nothing to do with Hyunggu’s plan but going back to class after lunch that day made him wonder if maybe Sunwoo had interpreted his situation a lot clearer than himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter.  
> I want to thank again everyone for reading it and also everybody who commented, left kudos, and bookmarked. I almost had a heart attack when I saw it. You guys are great.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meetup to change all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go to another chapter. Enjoy!

Most of the week until the day Hyunggu’s plan would be taken into action passed quickly and with no great event taking place. Class was the same as always and the stand wasn’t getting much more business than the regulars. Wooseok, however, was being swallowed by too many overwhelming emotions. Everyday made him realize how much he had fallen for Hyunggu, to the point that calling it a crush was an understatement. Everything the dancer made was adorable to his eyes and he had put himself into not “making Hyunggu pout or sad duty” with Yuto, what he noticed wasn’t that much different from before his feelings had come into consciousness. But it did put him in constant anxiety of being caught and left behind by the couple.

Not having friends growing up had made Wooseok very nervous about doing something that would make Hyunggu and Yuto mad or not wanting to be friends with him anymore. He had always been the awkward kid in class that was avoided for being too tall, too intimidating, and smelling too much like tteokbokki. That made him only rely on his grandmother, who was comforting and wise but didn’t help him to learn the intricate nuances of being around people his age. Even Shinwon, who was three years older than him, played with him in the playground around their houses, taught him how to play all the games at the arcade, and took care of him felt more like an older brother than a normal friend. Every time they saw each other, he would ask about his life, nag, and take care of him in a way that didn’t show how much he cared for the younger. So, with his recently discovered feelings, Wooseok kept himself in an even bigger state of self-consciousness than he was used to, making him act more awkward than normal.

What didn’t go completely unnoticed by the couple, but Hyunggu was too busy planning and executing his plan to go beyond asking him if everything was alright and Yuto sometimes looked like he wanted to say something, but never did since he was as awkward as Wooseok to talk about feelings. Not that he was aware of it. For him, the couple was the same as usual, adorable together and nice enough to include him in their daily life. And the vendor enjoyed watching Hyunggu put his plan in motion. Firstly, he had asked Jinho to buy him food on Thursday night, who tried to make up an excuse and had to hear the dancer whining. Then he explained his plan to Hwitaek (and Hyojong, by default), who were against him meddling into other people's lives like that but was also worried about Jinho becoming a hermit, which made Hyunggu point his finger back at him, and ended up agreeing. Those were all fun phone calls to listen to, but the best one was the one Jinho called the dancer to complain about Hyunggu snitching him up to Hwitaek and to say they all would go out on Thursday. It was time, then, for him to invite Hongseok, who agreed at the same moment and even asked if he could bring Changgu and Yanan with him because apparently they were getting on his nerves.

And just like that the day of Hyunggu “impromptu” meetup came like Wooseok and Yuto had started calling it, and the vendor also started getting anxious over actually meeting all these people he mostly had just heard about. Yuto, who had gone to set the stand with him since Hyunggu had dance practice in the afternoons, sensed that and distracted Wooseok, talking about the new game he wanted to try out. It made him feel very grateful to the Japanese because if he was alone, he would have gone into a spiral of nervous scenarios where he ruined everything.

“It’s going to be okay, Wooseok,” Yuto said, as soon as they finished setting everything up. “Well, I don’t if Hyunggu’s plan is going to work, but everyone is nice.” Yuto, then, seemed to think better about what he had said. “A bit crazy and loud, but nice.”

“Thanks, Yuto…” He smiled, embarrassed, and the Japanese smiled back, comforting. It was something very normal for them, communicating through smiles but Wooseok’s heart suddenly started to pick up its pace and the vendor got so freaked out that he asked the other to watch the stand while he went to the bathroom. The Japanese panicked a bit since he had never had taken care of business before, but Wooseok told him he was holding it for too long and that he only had to ask people to wait a bit until he came back from the bathroom.

It was a clear lie since the vendor was very good at holding his need to use the restroom since he had been working on the stand for so long, but he needed to be away from Yuto for a few minutes. He did, however, actually gone to the bathroom in the convenience store around the corner. The store’s owner was childhood friends with his dad and would always let him use the staff restroom when he needed it. Wooseok washed his face and stared at the small mirror over the sink, asking himself what had happened. He was still getting used to that kind of reaction to Hyunggu’s smiles, but it never had happened to Yuto before. The vendor decided to blame it on his gratitude for everything the Japanese had done for him that evening and went back to the stand to find his friend being cornered by a tall and skinny figure with short dark brown hair and a striped button shirt.

“Tell me who you are and what did you do to Wooseok?” Shinwon was pointing at Yuto, who so differently from his cold and distant image had both his arms raised and was stuttering.

“I already told you!” His voice was also high-pitched, which was something Wooseok only heard when the Japanese was freaking out over Hyunggu being sensitive. “He asked me to watch over the stand.”

“Wooseok? Asking people to look over his precious stand? Do you think I’m gonna fall for that?”

“Hyung…” The vendor decided to intervene and Yuto breathed relieved when Shinwon turned to him. “What are you doing to Yuto?”

“You know this punk?” He asked when he got closer to them, lowering his finger.

“Yeah, he is my university friend,” Wooseok answered simply and it was enough for the older to relax. The Japanese, however, still had his arms raised and the vendor found it a bit endearing. “You can relax, Yuto. Shinwon hyung is not able to hurt a fly even if he really wanted to.”

“Hey…” The older protested while Yuto lowered his arms, still observing Shinwon. “I’m very scary, Jung Wooseok.” The vendor mouthed a “sure” while going over the back of the stand and finishing up the last touches to properly open for business for the night. Shinwon sat by the counter making his order and the Japanese reluctantly sat by his side. “What’s up with this, then?” He asked, pointing at the other with his head. “You never brought anyone to stand before. I’m shooketh.”

“Hyung, don’t use internet slang in real life. It’s weird.” Wooseok served Shinwon and turned to Yuto. “Do you want something now or…”

“I’m gonna wait for Hyunggu.” He said, blushing a bit, and the vendor’s heart picked up again. This time, he told himself it was because the dancer had been mentioned.

“Oh, that’s why…” Shinwon commented suddenly, making the other two turn to him. “You are introducing him to the stand before doing it with your parents and grandma.” There were a few seconds of silence when neither Wooseok nor Yuto could do or say anything, but then the vendor choked on his own saliva, which scared the Japanese and he almost fell down from the counter stool.

“What the fuck, hyung?” Wooseok asked, angry, turning around to drink a bit of water. He hoped it also helped with the light warm feeling that was spreading across his face. After breathing deeply a few times, he turned again. “Yuto has a boyfriend, we are just friends.”

“If you say so…” The older started eating and the vendor turned to his friend, who still looked pretty much taken aback.

“Don’t mind Shinwon hyung. He is kind of weird…”

“Yah!” Shinwon exclaimed while Yuto nodded, like he was absorbing that information, so Wooseok turned back to the older and raised his eyebrows, which made him just shrug and go back to eat. “You still need to introduce me properly to your friend.”

“You’re not my real older brother, hyung.” The vendor complained and Shinwon looked like he was going to retort, but at that moment a group of people got by the stand.

“Wooseok-ah....” Hyunggu called, smiling brightly and his heartbeat increased again. Behind him, there were three other men, all of them shorter than the dancer. The vendor waved at him, who as soon as he had come closer to the counter, hugged and kissed Yuto’s cheek. “Did you take care of our Wooseokie properly?” The dancer asked him, making everyone around them uncomfortable.

“Of course…” The Japanese answered, blushing furiously. Shinwon, however, cringed very hard at the sight and Wooseok had no idea of what to do or feel, so he ignored the couple and observed the rest of the group coming closer. He recognized one of them as Jinho, remembering that he only reached around his shoulder, who was wearing a simple navy t-shirt and black pants. The other two were a bit taller and drew a bit more attention, with dyed hair and hipper outfits, one with dark blue hair, bomber jacket, and skinny jeans, and the other with longer bleached hair, jeans shorts and a white tank top under a jacket inspired by bowling shirts. Hyuggu introduced all of them and Wooseok ended up introducing Shinwon too, who was included in the hang out immediately.

The vendor put a few tables together close to the stand where everybody could sit together and he could keep an eye on the action. He then went to serve a few other clients that had appeared, watching in the background Shinwon struggling to keep his cool image in the middle of strangers he had just met. He wasn’t the only one, both Jinho and Yuto seemed to be acting a bit shy because of his presence, while Hyunggu, Hwitaek, and Hyojong were making a conversation like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Wooseok saw his older friend getting up and coming to the counter.

“I volunteered to take everyone’s orders.” The older said and gave him a small paper where someone had written it.

“So you are not running away from them?” The vendor asked and Shinwon waved it off, only to sigh.

“I may look cool, but you know I’m awkward around people.” He whined and Wooseok laughed a bit.

“How do you live in the fashion world like that?”

“People tend to think that if you don't talk much, you are very serious, unapproachable, and professional. Do you want a hand?” Shinwon asked him after seeing how many portions they would have to bring back to the table.

“Can you get the drinks?” The vendor asked him and the older quickly went around the stand to get them.

“And you would’ve done the same.” He accused him and Wooseok turned in his direction. “They all know each other. Why did you sign me up to sit with them?”

“Because Hyunggu would keep on asking you to join them if I hadn’t suggested. And why do you think I’m in here, hyung?” The vendor indicated the stand, but Shinwon ignored him.

“Which one is Hyunggu?” The older asked and Wooseok glared at him. “Let me guess, then…” Shinwon gave him a yellow smile. “Emo guy with green hair is Yuto, right? You said his name before.” The older made a thinking pose and the vendor rolled his eyes, going back to serving portions of tteokbokki while the other came back to the counter with a few bottles of soju. “Pretty Smiling Boy keep on calling Tired Potato Nose Hui hyung, so that must be his name. I have no idea about Very Short and Too Cool for School.”

“They literally introduced themselves to you, hyung!” Wooseok complained and the other just shrugged. “Hyunggu is Pretty Smiling Boy.” He informed the older, sighing.

“And he is Emo Guy’s boyfriend, right?” This time the vendor only nodded, because Shinwon seemed too proud of himself for remembering that information. “What about the rest?”

“Not sure, really,” Wooseok admitted. “I just formally met them today.”

“Then why are they here?” The older questioned him.

“Hyunggu has a plan.” Shinwon widened his eyes. “He wants to get Jinho-ssi and Hongseok hyung together.” The older looked confused. “Very Short and Very Buff Guy who isn’t here yet.”

“That’s why he keeps on looking at his phone.” He then stared at Wooseok and asked, “And what does that have to do with your stand?”

“He wanted to introduce them in a way that didn’t seem planned. So he created this all my friend meets all my other friend impromptu hang out.”

“And you wouldn’t be present if it wasn’t here… I see.” Shinwon seemed completative. “But why do you have to do all this guy wants, though?” Wooseok got completely taken aback at his question and avoided looking at him.

“Take the drinks to the table, hyung…” He said in a very low voice, hoping that he wasn’t looking as pitiful as he was suddenly feeling, but failed since the older went back to the table whispering ‘Poor Wooseokie’. The vendor, however, didn’t have time to think about that because people around the table, as soon as they noticed Shinwon coming back with the drinks, got up to help him and to take out the food from the counter. The first ones to get there were Hwitaek and Hyojong, who took two portions each.

“You are even taller than Hyunggu said…” Hyojong commented, without any malice, but the other intervened anyway.

“You don’t say that to people, Hyojong…” Hwitaek complained, seeing Wooseok getting weirded out. “Don’t mind him, Wooseok-ssi...”

“Yeah, don’t mind me. I bet it is very cool being this tall. You can look over everyone’s heads.” The other said, with a nice smile and both left with the food, Hyojong apparently still being scolded by Hwitaek. The vendor still had no time to think or even figure out what he was feeling when Hyunggu came to the counter.

“Are you okay, Wooseokie?” He questioned him, looking genuinely worried. “You didn’t look very well during the week, but I couldn’t talk to you properly.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” The vendor tried to smile, but he felt his face muscles stranded and the dancer put his hands on his hips. “I guess I was nervous about tonight…” He ended up saying.

“Oh, me too. I couldn’t sleep last night because of it, thinking if everyone would hit off and if the hyungs would like each other. But it must be hard for you, right? Meeting all these people at the same time?” Wooseok could only nod. “You and Yuto are very similar in that. He always gets worried when we meet up with other people. And he told me you seemed nervous earlier. But all the hyungs are quite nice and your friend seems to be starting to have fun. So you should come to sit with us whenever you can.” He finished giving the vendor one of his nicest smiles and Wooseok felt his face warm up, so he only nodded again. Hyunggu’s smile grew and he took the rest of the food with him.

The vendor took that as an opportunity to go to the back of the stand and catch his breath. Too much had happened too quickly and he didn’t know how to deal. Shinwon’s question was still going around his mind and he knew the older had read the situation clearly as water and he had no idea how that conversation would go on later. Besides that, he felt sincerity on Hyojong’s comment about his height, but he couldn’t deny that he felt self-conscious about it. And on top of that Hyunggu’s worry and invite had made his heartbeat like crazy, which also made him remember it doing the same because of Yuto earlier. Wooseok had never felt more lost in his life than at that moment, not knowing it would only get worse from there.

After a few minutes, he went back to the front and saw three well-dressed men coming over to the stand. They went straight to Hyunggu’s table and Wooseok could only recognize Hongseok. The newcomers caused a stir around the table and Yuto came to the counter, half to ask him to move a few more tables for them, half to escape Hyunggu’s awkward explanation about what was happening. He and the Japanese brought two more tables and it became clear that Hongseok knew the dancer was out with other friends and that he had only warned Jinho about the other three coming a few minutes before them appearing at the stand. Wooseok went back to the counter after setting the tables to serve other clients and only noticed the three newcomers coming over when he was putting more rice cakes to cook.

“Wooseok-ah…” Hongseok called, getting in front of the counter while the other two looked over the menu. He was wearing a simple white shirt and black dress pants, with round glasses to complete the look. “Didn’t know you owned a tteokbokki stand.”

“I don’t. It’s my grandma’s…” He answered awkwardly, not knowing how to talk to the other without Hyunggu around. “But she is retired now.”

“Understood then…” The older said, laughing clumsily. “Oh, let me introduce you to my friends.” As they had caught the clue, the other two had gotten closer. “This is Yanan, last year of medicine…” Hongseok pointed to the tallest, who was wearing a glen checkered jacket over a black shirt and black pants. “ And this is Yeo Changgu, last year of psychology.” He pointed to the other one, who was wearing a corduroy beige formal jacket over a black turtleneck and also black pants.

“Nice meeting you, Wooseok-ssi.” Changgu shook the vendor’s hand, which surprised him a lot. “Hongseok hyung talked a lot about you.”

“No, he didn’t…” Yanan buttled in. “Stop lying to make people feel better.”

“I’m not lying! I’m being nice.” He exclaimed looking at other. “You should try it more times.” The taller rolled his eyes, making Changgu huff and go back to the table stomping.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Wooseok-ssi,” Yanan said, bowing to him and also going back to the table, leaving Hongseok alone, sighing.

“Do they always act like that?” The vendor asked him, bending over the counter.

“Nowadays, yes,” Hongseok said, tiredly. “They used to be so nice and in love with each other before moving in together. Now, every time I see them, they are fighting over the silliest stuff.” He sighed again. “And they left without telling me what they wanted. Assholes.”

“Well, there aren't that many options in a tteokbokki stand, right?” Wooseok said, in a light-hearted tone, trying to cheer the other one. He couldn’t even imagine what he would do if that happened with Hyunggu and Yuto. “You’re right.” The older chuckled and ordered three portions of tteokbokki and soju, which was basically what everyone else was having. He waited for everything to be served, chatting up with the vendor, what was something that he never had done before. It was an actual nice change of pace for them and Wooseok could see the humorous and silly side of the graduate student. When the order was ready, he helped Hongseok to take it to the table and saw the convenient seat they had left for him beside Jinho’s.

He didn’t stay long at the table, since he had other people to serve and the night grew later as the nine men were talking, eating, and drinking. Sometimes someone would come to the counter to order more food or drinks and Wooseok got to know a bit more about Hyunggu’s friends. Like why Hyojong seemed so interested in his height (he was an underground rapper and imagined how much of a stage presence he could have if he was the vendor’s height), that Changgu was so nice that it bordered pushover territory and that Hwitaek, who came over complaining about who had invited the guy who called him Tired Potato Nose, was a music producer in the same company Hyunggu did most of his back dancer gigs and looked tired because he spent most of his time in the studio.

The table continued going firm until the time Wooseok would usually close the stand, so he could join them with the last round of food and drinks that hadn’t been consumed yet. Most of the table cheered when he sat down between Shinwon and Yuto and he could finally be part of the few parallel conversations going around it. A drunk Jinho was telling a similar drunk Hongseok about the part he had lost on a musical play because the other guy was tall, Shinwon was discussing American rock bands with both Hwitaek and Hyojong while Yuto listened, giving comments here and there and Hyunggu was trying to smooth the argument Yanan and Changgu were having over the toilet.

“It’s disgusting. You need to flush.”

“I’m saving water!” The psychology student said, apparently very drunk. “And the planet.”

“I don’t care, it’s disgusting!” The other retorted and Hyunggu turned to him, completely exasperated.

“They won’t stop.” He mouthed to Wooseok, who gave him a sympathetic smile. “It doesn’t matter what I do.” The vendor chuckled at that and the dancer laughed, noticing how ridiculous the whole argument was.

It took them a few more hours to finish up, between more discussions and talks. Wooseok’s tiredness after working helped him being less awkward and he even got into an argument with Hongseok, Shinwon, and Yanan about who was the best Avenger. When everyone decided it was time to go, they settled the bill with Wooseok and helped him close down the stand properly. He saw both Hongseok and Jinho thanking Hyunggu for the meeting and most of the guys exchanging numbers with Shinwon. Everybody went home feeling a similar sense of happiness and Wooseok laid out on his bed not even remembering the way his heartbeat kept on increasing over the smallest thing Hyunggu and Yuto had done over the whole night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planing such a big chapter, but with everything that need to happen, it ended up becoming huge.  
> I had a lot of fun (and a little bit of writer's block) writing the boys getting to know each other and I'm very proud of some of the funny bits in it. Also, Shinwon's nicknames for everybody came from all the love that I have for them, especially for Hui's nose. It's adorable.  
> Fun fact: I got stuck at basically the same thing for this fic and for [Of deadlines and soulmates ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25941553), which is the third part of these series. For anyone who gets interested, it has Ateez in it and it also deals with a third part coming in between an established soulmate couple. But the plot is a bit different.  
> In a not so fun fact, there is some stuff going on in my personal life and I don't know if I'm going to able to update the fic on this kind of weekly schedule, but I'm going to try my best.  
> Anyway, see you next time.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People sometimes notice things that you don't want them to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

The meetup changed Wooseok’s life in a few more ways than he had anticipated. Firstly, Hongseok started to eat lunch with them more frequently and became a lot more friendly with the vendor, asking more about his life and the tteokbokki stand. And sometimes he would bring his other friends too, which always made Wooseok, Yuto and Hyunggu watch the most ridiculous fights between Yanan and Changgu. It also made the trio start having lunch on different parts of the campus, somewhere the vendor had never put his feet on before. For Wooseok, the highlight of this was finding out that the Psychology cafeteria had the best bokkeum-bap on the campus. The worst part was that it made him have even more opportunities to be embarrassed in front of other people. Especially after he noticed how both of Hongseok’s friends started to observe him closely during their lunches together. 

“Why do they keep looking at you?” Yuto asked him one afternoon after they dropped Hyunggu on his dance practice and were going back to the Japanese’s dorm. Wooseok stared at him for a while confused. “Yanan and Changgu hyung. When they are not fighting, they keep an eye on you.” 

“I don’t know…” He responded, embarrassed that his friend had noticed their behaviour too. 

“I’m gonna talk to Hyunggu about it,” Yuto said, resolute. “I didn’t want to do it before talking to you about it, but if even you don’t know why maybe he can find out. It’s obviously bothering you.” 

“There’s no need, Yuyu…” The vendor said, a bit touched. The Japanese, however, halted and looked at him as soon as he heard the nickname that had come out without the other noticing. Wooseok got a bit confused, especially because Yuto was becoming a tomato under his eyes until he realized what he had said. “I… Yuto…” 

“It’s okay…” He shot out and an awkward silence fell around them. They ended up getting to his dorm and setting up the game they have been trying to beat without exchanging one word, both with burning ears. It took Yuto half of a phase to say anything. “It’s just no one calls me that except for Hyunggu.” 

“I know…” Wooseok answered while pausing the game. “I don’t know what happened.” Yuto looked at him and nodded. He didn’t seem angry or annoyed, just surprised. There were a few more minutes of silence where they just stared at each other and the vendor had to somehow keep himself from taking in his friend's full beauty under the afternoon sunlight that was coming in from the window. 

“I don’t think Hyunggu would mind…” Yuto whispered suddenly, but Wooseok only saw the words coming out of his plushy lips. “And it’s cute… You calling me Yuyu.” 

The Japanese blushed again and turned around, avoiding looking back at the vendor, who didn’t have time to absorb the other words before restarting the game. For the rest of that afternoon, Wooseok stayed in silence and with thoughts rushing over his brain. Did Yuto actually let him use the pet name Hyunggu used? Did he call him cute? Did he actually think and felt like he wanted to kiss him? The vendor went to work afterwards thinking about it and from the moment on Wooseok started to notice every single reaction he had to the couple. Every heartbeat increases, every blush, every shy smile, every stare that he knew he shouldn’t steal. And every night, when he laid down on his bed, he felt the longing for both of them growing. 

Besides that, his stand gained new regulars, since most of Hyunggu’s other friends liked the atmosphere and cheap good meals he could offer. With that Wooseok discovered that Hwitaek and Hyojong didn’t live so far away for him and that the stand was on the way from home to work for the older. He found that out because the dancer started bringing the music producer to eat there almost every night because apparently he wouldn’t eat or go back home if Hyunggu didn’t force him. It also made Yuto, sometimes, come to help him with the stand, which became a source of anticipation and anxiety for Wooseok. He couldn’t deny that working with the Japanese was a lot more fun than by himself, but it also made all mushy inside and pretending it wasn’t happening made him exhausted. He started taking even more naps during classes, which made both of his friends worry about him. 

“Are you sure you are okay, Wooseokie?” Hyunggu asked him on a night when Yuto was helping him at the stand and the dancer had come with both Hwitaek and Hyojong. The three clients were piled over the counter. 

“Yeah, no, I’m great…” He answered with a strangled smile and chuckle could be heard. Both the vendor and the dancer looked at Hyojong, who wasn’t trying to hide his grin. 

“Why are you laughing, hyung?” Hyunggu asked him, looking a bit offended. 

“No reason…” The rapper shrugged, still smiling. That finally got Hwitaek’s attention and he took off the earphones he had on since the dancer had turned his attention from him to Wooseok earlier that evening. He turned from Hyunggu to Hyojong. 

“What did you do?” He asked the rapper. 

“Nothing. Go back to your work.” 

“Hyung, you are working?” The dancer asked him, annoyed, and snatched his phone from the counter. He saw the name of the track and pushed the device back at his hands. “I can’t believe you! I thought you were just listening to music, but here you are listening to the same song you showed me last week!” Yuto came over and inquired Wooseok about what was happening with just a look and the vendor shrugged. “Can’t you stop for one second and enjoy our company for once?” Hwitaek seemed very surprised by the dancer's rant and couldn’t say anything, which only made Hyunggu even angrier. He puffed and left after apologizing briefly to Wooseok. Yuto excused himself, going after his boyfriend and Hwitaek looked at Hyojong. 

“What?” The rapper asked, calmly eating his tteokbokki. 

“Are you coming or not?” 

“Nah…” He answered, waving his hand dismissively. “You go and sort out your mess with Hyunggu. I’m gonna stay here and make Wooseok some company.” 

“You’re infuriating, Hyojong,” Hwitaek said, sighing. “I don’t know why I put up with you.” 

“It's because you love me…” The rapper commented while the others left and then turned to the vendor. “Do you also want to go after Hyunggu?” The question took him aback and Hyojong’s grin grew. He changed places in order to get closer to the vendor. “You know, Wooseokie, I have been keeping an eye on you and boy, what a mess you got yourself in, huh?” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…” The vendor turned around to wipe the sweat that had started forming in his forehead, wishing Hyojong would drop the subject. What was obviously not the case. 

“Of course you do.” The rapper said as soon as he turned back. “But don’t worry. Your Hyojong hyung is here to help you.” 

“I… No, thanks.” Wooseok managed to say and the other giggled. 

“Come’ on, Wooseokie. Talk with your Hyojong hyung.” 

“No, you’re too weird.” 

“If you don’t want to talk, then I’m going to talk for you.” He smiled again, making the vendor sweat. “It became very obvious for me on the day Hyunggu did that stunt to set Jinho hyung with that buff guy, which by the way can actually work and I’m as surprised as you about that…” Hyojong made a little pause to eat a mouthful of tteokbokki and Wooseok managed to look a bit confused. “Dude, it was clear as a, well, clean river that you are head over hills about our adorable and incredibly sensitive dancer friend. Who, by the way, is dating this amazing Japanese guy who moved countries for him after they met online.” 

“Tell me about it…” Wooseok said without thinking and wanted to slap himself because of the other smirk. 

“Well, I saw that and thought ‘Hmm, this poor tall guy gonna need some help’. That was the second reason I started coming over to your stand…” 

“The first is because the food is good and the soju is cheap.” The vendor interrupted him, annoyed. “You always say that after the third bottle.” 

“Right…” Hyojong laughed by himself. “But then I see you becoming a blushing mess every time said amazing Japanese guy smiles towards your direction and it just made me pity you even more. Especially because they are soulmates and all that shit.” The rapper finished his speech in the most nonchalantly way, what unnerved Wooseok in a way that he ended up shouting. 

“Wait, what?” The vendor slammed his fists on the counter and the rapper took his food out of it, afraid it would spill out. Noticing his own reaction, Wooseok retrieved his hands and took out his beanie, messing with hair hard and as much his own brain was trying to process the information Hyojong had just given to him. 

“You didn’t know?” He asked him, carefully, after deeming safe enough to put his food back at the counter. 

“No…” Wooseok answered him, in a very low voice. 

“Well, no wonder. They actually don’t like to disclose that information that often. Hwitaek and I only found out because Jinho forced it out of Hyunggu when he told this random guy from the internet was moving here for him.” 

“That…” Wooseok tried to speak, but he couldn’t form a sentence. He breathed deeply a few times to calm himself down, but it only worked after he crouched down, leaving only the top of the head on Hyojong’s line of vision. “That makes sense.” 

“Yeah, it does…” The rapper said, smiling comfortingly to the vendor. “But don’t worry, little tteokbokki master, your Hyojong hyung is here.” He, then, patted Wooseok’s pink hair and, even with all of his strange shenanigans, it made the vendor feel a bit better. 

“Thanks, hyung,” Wooseok said, after getting up. 

“Don’t worry about it.” The other affirmed. “Time heals everything.” 

“Let’s hope it does…” The vendor commented, looking to the night sky outside the stand, wishing time would really heal this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back.  
> I'm sorry about the little break we had, my head wasn't in the right place to write.  
> But now we are back on track and this chapter turned out a lot better than I thought it would.  
> Also I may have some new ideas for this series hoping that I can get them on paper as soon as possible.  
> Thank you for reading my wicked ideas!
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is lying better than risking losing the people you love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!  
> Brace yourselves for a little messy angst.

Finding out that Hyunggu and Yuto were soulmates made everything even weirder for Wooseok. Firstly, because he had never thought much about soulmates. Almost everyone in his family didn’t seem to care about it and the only person that had talked with him about the subject was his grandmother. She had told him a few times the story about meeting his grandfather on that same stand, especially the part where they had recognized their mark on each other’s necks at the same time. Besides that, no one else talked about it. He didn’t even know if his parents were soulmates or not. And being the awkward guy he was, romance had an even smaller space in his life than friendships. Of course, he had had a few infatuations growing up, but nothing like it was with Hyunggu or Yuto. His heart ached when he saw them and he started to feel a bang of jealousy on his gut every time they were holding hands, kissing, or just being a normal couple around him. It made the vendor feel horrible, especially because it wasn’t like he wanted to break them up. He just wanted to be part of that.

After that night, however, he developed a habit of standing in front of the mirror every night before going to bed. Wooseok would turn around to see the beautiful drawing of a night sky over a waterfall and mountains in traditional Korean style standing in the middle part of his back. There were a few details missing, but it had always been like this like his mark was being drawn on his skin while he was growing up. And, even with his almost no knowledge about soulmate marks (most came from what Sunwoo had told him about Junghwan’s case), he knew his drawing was unusual. Most people had an animal or some kind of plant growing on their bodies, not a full landscape being drawn with time.

Finally paying attention to his mark made Wooseok angry. Who else would have such a weird mark? And how he would find them? The vendor couldn’t go around asking people to show their backs to him. And what even was the point of thinking about it if the only two people on his mind were Hyunggu and Yuto? Wooseok felt like he was thinking about them in every awake minute. About how pretty they were, each one with their singularities ― Hyunggu with his soft cheeks, cute nose, and plush lips, and Yuto with his strong jawline, small eyes, and straight nose. How nice they were, always worrying about his well-being and helping him with classes or anything else that was happening in his life. How affectionate they were ― Hyunggu, full-on clingy, always hugging him and fixing his hair and Yuto, with a steady supporting or a patting hand on his back or shoulder.

It also made him feel like he was losing his mind sometimes. He was so scared of being caught staring at them, especially the less innocent ones. Every time his eyes went down Yuto’s broad back or stopped on Hyunggu's strong thighs, the vendor wanted to rip his eyes from his face just for daring to look at his friends like this. So he did the only thing he could think about and started to avoid both of them. First, he told Yuto that he didn’t need that much help on the stand, what the Japanese tried to argue about it a few times, but Wooseok knew how to be stubborn when he wanted to. Then, he started to give them excuses to not hang out during the afternoons, mostly saying he needed to study more (what wasn’t a lie, but who was he trying to fool?). Later, he started cutting their lunches together short, eating really quickly and leaving without any explanation, and then finally skipping class, because it had become the only moment he saw Yuto and he couldn’t deal with that at the moment.

Wooseok’s behavior didn’t go unnoticed by the couple and both tried to ask the vendor what was happening. He tried to play it like it was nothing, but it was clear that he was actively trying to avoid them. Hyunggu tried to talk to him a few times, both in person or by phone and Yuto texted him at least once a day to ask how he was doing (and to send him the assignments their professors had passed, if he hadn’t gone to class that day). The vendor managed to avoid them for at least two weeks, receiving disapproving looks from Hyojong almost every night. Those looks, with a small piece of a conversation he had overheard between the rapper and Hwitaek one night, made him feel ashamed of himself. Apparently Hyunggu had been crying because of him and he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t afford to be close to the couple, but he also didn’t want to hurt them. And that possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind, he didn’t think that he was important enough for the dancer to actively hurt him.

He tried very hard to convince himself that he had heard it wrong and Hyunggu had cried about something else. But he ended up seeing it with his own eyes a few nights later, when the dancer came over to the stand, dressed in just a simple t-shirt and sweatpants, making a lot less effort than he would normally do, looking shy and with reddish eyes. He approached the counter carefully and only when he seemed sure that the vendor wouldn’t run away from him was that he sat down, completely in silence. Seeing him like that made Wooseok want to start tearing up, but he controlled himself and tried to act as nothing had happened. His behavior clearly confused Hyunggu.

“You're not mad at me?” The dancer whispered and the vendor wanted to throw himself from a window.

“Of course not!” He exclaimed, scaring both of them. “Why would I be?”

“I don’t know…” Hyunggu said, starting to look less sad and angrier. “I thought that I had done something that made you angry and that’s why you started avoiding us.”

“No…” Wooseok started, mind at 100km/h. “I wasn’t avoiding you.” The dancer opened his mouth, but he interrupted him. “Or Yuto.”

“But you haven’t been going to class or hanging out with us…” The other was fully pouting now and the vendor was torn between thinking he was adorable and that he was the cause of Hyunggu’s sadness.

“It’s…” He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself and figure out what he could say. “It’s uni, you know?” Wooseok decided that he was going to use the fake reason why he was doing this, even though it wasn’t necessarily a lie, and the dancer opened his mouth in surprise. “I’m not very good at this being a student thing. Watching class and writing essays is very boring and I think it got to the point that it just made me a bit depressed.” He sighed and it somehow fit the story he was telling Hyunggu because the other looked like he was hanging from every word that was coming out of his lips. “I tried to make a last effort but it was miserable. I was miserable.”

“But, Woosoekie….” The dancer tried to say, but the vendor couldn’t let him cut in or he would lose track of his excuse.

“It didn’t have anything to do with you or Yuto.” He, then, gave the other a little smile that made Hyunggu almost beam. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk about before and just kind of disappeared, but I…” Wooseok hesitated a bit, but the dancer looked like he was 100% buying it. “I didn’t want to bother you two with my problems.” The vendor finished in a small voice, thinking that the last phrase had been the biggest truth he had said that night.

“Oh, Seokie, you wouldn’t have bothered us!” Hyunggu exclaimed, touched, and caught one of his hands on his. It made the other freak out a bit, mostly because of how cute the dancer’s hand looked on his huge ones, but also by how good that small gesture made him feel, even though he knew he didn’t deserve it. “We are your friends and here to help go through shit like that.” Wooseok managed to give Hyunggu the same nice smile the dancer was giving him, but deep inside, hearing that the couple were his friends hurt him. He wanted more than that and the dancer was making clear that he would never be able to have that.

Hyunggu ended up spending most of that night at the stand, giving Wooseok updates about everything he had missed and completely oblivious about the heartache the vendor was going through. He talked about the never-ending saga of Yanan being mad at Changgu about the wet towel over the bed, the fact that Hwitaek hadn’t left his studio in three days despite his nagging, and that both Jinho and Hongseok had admitted to him that they were interested at the other. The vendor played his part well, asking questions about it and pretending that he wasn’t feeling like he was dying inside because of his longing. Before the dancer left, however, he warned him that he may continue to not appear a lot at university and the dancer was understanding in person, now that he thought he wasn’t the cause of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, that happened.  
> I don't know if I managed to set this up properly, but basically Wooseok is very new to all this feelings thing and that makes even harder for him to deal with a situation that would be complicated for anyone.  
> Also, this chapter sets up something else in his life and I feel bad for putting him through such a hard time, but things are gonna get better by the end of the fic (that's already written!)  
> And if you guys got curious about Junghwan's case, you can read all about it at [Of sweets and soulmates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22054816) (yes, this is a shameless plug for the first part of the series 😉😉😉). It's about how Sandeul from B1A4 and Ken from Vixx are soulmates but don't fall in love with each other (platonic soulmates, yay!)  
> Anyway, see you guys next week!
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking to people always bring new perspectives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yanan's back and so am I. Enjoy!

The excuse Wooseok gave Hyunggu made the vendor start thinking about the university in general. He knew it wasn’t his forte and he had been struggling in classes for too long to pretend that he was happily studying Economics. But during this time skipping classes and not writing papers have made him feel more relieved than anything else. He could finally focus most of his time on things that he liked, like the tteokbokki stand and videogames, and if he hadn’t been having such a hard time because of his romantic life, he could have said that he was happy. What made him feel even more guilty about not going to classes, especially because he felt the social and familiar pressure of attending university. His grandparents had worked very hard for his parents, uncles, and aunts to graduate and he and his cousins were supposed to go further. But here he was, going over the idea of dropping out because he couldn’t handle some morning classes.

It all ended up contributing to his increasingly degrading mental state. He felt trapped by his choices and emotions, and not knowing how to resolve either of those situations made him feel completely desperate. However, Wooseok was the kind of person that didn’t let people see most of his struggles, so for his parents, he looked like he was just being lazier than usual. After they noticed that he was skipping class, they started to nag him to go to class and he tried to force himself to at least go once a week, while still trying to avoid his friends, especially in the times he managed to get to class. But most days he would just wander alone in the university surroundings, where he found a few cafes and bookstores he had never noticed before. If it wasn't for those walks and the stand, he would be losing it even harder.

Working at the stand, however, also made his parents don’t go full nagging mode on his ass and he felt like those few square meters had yet again become his refuge. At night was the only time of the day the vendor could smile freely and be his normal self since it distracted him from everything else that was going on in his life. He could listen to his clients’ stories and at least give them a bit of spicy comfort. Some even made him laugh or genuinely happy, like the time when Junghwan introduced his model friend as his boyfriend. Wooseok also had Hyojong there, being a weird, but still a comforting presence. The rapper never mentioned Hyunggu or Yuto directly, indicating he knew what was going on but didn’t judge him for avoiding his problems.

“It isn’t that one of Hyunggu’s friends?” Hyojong said one night, seeing a tall figure coming from behind the stand. The vendor looked at the direction and recognized Yanan, who seemed more and more furious as he got closer. The Chinese stopped in front of Wooseok, not even sparing a look at the rapper sitting at the counter.

“I don’t know what you did or why Hyunggu is so caught up on you…” He said, coldly and shivers of fear ran down the vendor’s back. “But if you don’t fix this situation soon, I’m gonna break both of your legs.” Yanan didn’t wait to see the effect of his threat and left.

“That was scary…” Wooseok commented with the rapper.

“That was hot…” Hyojong retorted, making the vendor wonder why he expected a normal reaction from the rapper.

Yanan’s threat didn’t have any real effect on Wooseok besides making him even more careful on the rare days he went to university, because now he had to avoid Hyunggu, Yuto, and him. Luck, however, wasn't on his side and the Chinese’s boyfriend found him exactly on the day he had managed to attend all his classes and was trying to get Yuto out of his track. Changgu was a lot more polite than Yanan while talking to him but mostly felt like he was trying to guilt-trip him into talking to the couple.

“They both miss you so much, Wooseok.” The man kept repeating while following him. They ended up on the other side of campus.

“Look, Changgu-ssi, I really appreciate your and your boyfriend’s worries…” The vendor started, trying to not show his annoyance by having been followed by the other. “But I’m going through some stuff right now and don’t want to put them on this mess.”

“That’s very nice of you, but it won’t work.” Changgu suddenly assumed a professional posture and Wooseok remembered that he was almost a graduated psychologist. “Very soon you can explode if you keep everything bottled up inside. Talking to friends can be a good source of relief.” He smiled at the vendor before continuing. “It’s admirable that you don’t want to burden Hyunggu and Yuto with your problems, but they are very nice people and can help you, just because they care, unlike some people.” A small shadow passed his face, but his posture continued the same. “But I would advise you to seek some professional help too. Our university has a great program for students seeking counseling. I think I have a card here somewhere…” He interrupted himself for a while to look inside his backpack but very soon continued talking, still looking for the card. “That, obviously, if you don’t want to find a professional outside campus, what it’s actually a great idea too. There is nothing wrong with finding mental help when you need it, but that asshole has too much pride to go to a couple's therapy… Oh, here!” Changgu exclaimed suddenly, taking a small card and giving it to Wooseok, with a strangled smile.

“Are you okay, Changgu-ssi?” The vendor asked, empathetic.

“No, I’m not…” The other whined and crouched down, making Wooseok freak out.

“Hyung, what’s going on? What can I do?” He asked Changgu a few times, panicking more every time because the older had started to cry.

“Do you have some free time?” The question came after a few seconds, between sobs. The vendor nodded and ended up spending his afternoon, sitting in one of the coffee shops around campus he had discovered before, listening to Changgu and Yanan’s relationship problems.

That alone would have made him exhausted for the rest of the day, but he still had to work and it made him miss those times when Yuto helped him out at the stand. Listening about how the older couple went from the most lovable soulmates to bickering 24/7 also made him even more scared about his romantic feelings, but also made him miss his friends a lot. Maybe it had been Changgu’s monologue about sharing his struggles with someone else or the fact that the older missed the good old days of his relationship, but he had started to feel the need to vent out to someone. And his victim appeared as soon as he opened up the stand for the night.

“Wooseokie…” Shinwon called while sitting down at the counter. “How have you been?”

“Not great, hyung.” He said, preparing his usual order and missing his shocked face.

“Does that have to do with Pretty Smiling Boy and Emo guy with green hair?” The older asked before starting eating.

“How do you know?” Wooseok questioned, confused, and Shinwon smirked.

“I may have become close to a few of those guys, and well, people talk.” He answered mysteriously and the vendor thought it was better not to inquire further. “But tell me what happened?”

“Rather not say it…” He said, vaguely and the older didn’t pry. But Changgu’s voice suddenly resonated in Wooseok's ears and he decided that talking about his other struggle wouldn’t cause any harm. “Hyung…” The vendor called, tentatively.

“Yes, Wooseokie?”

“Are you happy?” The question took Shinwon completely aback and he choked on the mouthful of tteokbokki he had just eaten.

“What kind of question is that?” He said, annoyed, after drinking the water Wooseok had brought him.

“I didn’t mean it in general, just…” The vendor sighed, feeling impatient with his inability of finding the right words. “Do you like university?”

“Oh…” The older breathed in relief. “Well, no. But it’s a practical career in case modeling doesn’t work.”

“But…Would you actually work in the area? Do you see yourself being an accountant or something like that?”

“Putting like that…” Shinwon said, thinking about it. “No, I don’t. I think I would rather become a stock photo model.” His answer surprised Wooseok and made him pensive. “But it did take my parents over my ass in the beginning, even though they now keep asking when I’m going to graduate.” The older commented, annoyed. “How do they think I got the money to buy them a new car? By attending classes properly?” The vendor nodded, not knowing how to deal with his friend's confession. For him, Shinwon was the example of a path he could follow. Studying something realistic in university so that he could work in what he wanted. He just didn’t anticipate that the older felt exactly like he was.

“So, you are going to graduate?” He asked, being tentatively again.

“Well, yes.” Shinwon sighed. “I invested too much of my time not to finish it.” He then looked at Wooseok’s eyes very seriously. “But that doesn’t mean you have too. It took me long enough to figure out that I was only doing this course to please my family. But your life is your’s, Wooseok-ah. You need to figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing.” The older patted his shoulder and finished eating without saying anything else, giving space for the vendor to absorb everything he had said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't time Yanan's participation in this chapter with him being back on the group hahaha.  
> But I'm just incredibly happy by him looking happy and healthy back on Pentagon and I can't wait for the next combeck.  
> Also, thanks everybody who has being reading. It seriously makes my day.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Especially when they care about you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A (fun) update about love. Enjoy!

Wooseok reflected over the talks he had with Changgu and Shinwon for a few days. They had opened a small light at the end of his tunnel. He still wasn’t sure what he could do, but at least he started having hope that he could solve his problems. His day to day life, however, was still the same and he ended up getting caught by another of Hyunggu’s friends while he roamed around the campus parking lot one morning, wondering if he should go or not to class. Hongseok had been observing him for a few minutes, very confused by the vendor walking up and down between the parked cars, looking very distressed. He hadn’t seen the other in a while and scared the shit out of Wooseok by suddenly calling him loudly from the other side of the parking lot.

“Hongseok hyung?” He asked, shocked. The postgraduate student came over to where he was, looking determined, and the vendor covering his heart with both hands.

“Why are you not in class?” Hongseok asked him directly and the younger stared at him confused, still recovering from the scare.

“I don’t think I can…” Wooseok admitted, in a whisper and the older looked at him concerned. “Not after this, at least.” He continued, trying to light up the mood and the other let a confused chuckle escape. 

“Sorry, Wooseok-ah. It’s just been so long…” The postgraduate student patted his shoulder. “You know Hyunggu has been worried sick about you, right?” Hongseok asked, without noticing the vendor’s face dropping. “Always saying that you should talk to him or Yuto about why you are still skipping classes.”

“I... didn’t know that…” He admitted again and Hongseok smiled, comprehensive.

“At least Yuto seems to be on your side, telling him that he should give you some space…” The older commented, taking Wooseok aback. It didn’t seem like the Japanese was trying to give him space every time he tried to talk to him after the classes he had attended recently. “He says that you are going to talk to them when you’re ready.” The vendor didn’t say anything, starting to feel grateful for the trust his friend had put on him, even if it was just a facade to calm Hyunggu down. His quietness worried Hongseok a bit more, so he continued talking. “Hey, why don’t we go grab coffee?” Wooseok looked at the older, disoriented by the invite. “Since your scared cat heart can go to class and mine was canceled. Then later we can have lunch with them…”

“I should go!” The vendor exclaimed, panicking, and tried to turn around to leave, but felt Hongseok’s strong hand on his shoulder stopping him. He hadn’t even noticed that it was still there. “I can’t… I can’t let them see me like this, hyung!” Again, Wooseok admitted in a whisper, not sure where it had come from. The older seemed surprised by his confession and took his hand out of his shoulder.

“I… Sorry, Wooseok-ah…” He apologized, embarrassed. “I just wanted to help Hyunggu…” The vendor nodded to him, also embarrassed by the situation and they stayed put for a few minutes, in silence. “Forget lunch, then. Let’s just have coffee.” Hongseok invited again, in a lighter mood. “Make company to your hyung until his next class. I swear that I won’t talk about Hyunggu or Yuto.” The older looked at him, attempting to make puppy eyes. Wooseok wondered for a bit and agreed, taking Hongseok to the same coffee shop he had gone to with Changgu. Maybe like this, the older could comfort Hyunggu a bit.

The rest of his morning, then, was spent with the older venting out about the crush he developed on Jinho. He told Wooseok about the few texts they had exchanged and the cute photos he had found of the other on Hyunggu’s social media. The younger thought it was adorable. How such a broad and intimidating looking guy could melt talking about his crush while also looking so insecure about making a move on the other? The postgraduate student seemed so sure that Jinho would never look his way in terms of romance, listing all the flaws and pet peeves he thought would turn the other off. It was a raw experience for the vendor because he could understand where the older was coming from while seeing exactly why all of what he was saying didn’t make any sense. Hongseok, for him, looked like the whole package. He was handsome, hot, a bit busy but with a good prospect of a career, while also being mature, funny, and cute. Since he couldn’t talk about his romantic struggle, he tried the best to reinforce the older qualities to him, but it didn't seem to have any effect. The postgraduate student was keen on thinking Wooseok was just trying to cheer him up.

After such an intense experience, mostly because the vendor could empathize with Hongseok on such a deep level, Wooseok was thrown again on some reflection. If even confident and attractive people like Hongseok could feel as insecure about love as him, then maybe he wasn’t such a mess after all. Because that had been his main feeling since figuring out his crush on Hyunggu. That he was a mess. And everything that happened after seemed to only confirm that.

“What’s with the long face, Wooseokie?” Hyojong asked him that night, as soon as he sat down at the counter.

“Nothing, hyung.” The vendor answered, not sure why he was so down. He felt like his talk with Hongseok should have had the opposite effect, but understanding how much of a mess he thought he was drained all his energy.

“Come ‘on, dude. We went through this already. You know you can trust your Hyojong hyung.” The rapper said, almost looking offended.

“It's not that I don’t trust you, hyung.” He looked to the older, not sure of what he could say. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Then, start from the beginning.” The other assured him and that was what Wooseok did. He told him about becoming friends with Yuto and meeting Hyunggu. The guilt he felt for developing a crush on his only friend’s boyfriend and then finding out he was falling for the other too. About feeling awkward around them, especially after getting to know the couple was soulmates, and trying to avoid them to the point where he stopped going to class to not see them. He told him about the excuse he had given the dancer and how it made him realize how much he actually hated university, and also about the different conversations he had had in the last few days.

“So you lied to Hyunggu,” Hyojong said after he finished, already on his second portion of tteokbokki.

“It’s that where you want to start?” Wooseok asked him, desperate and the older only shrugged. “And I didn’t lie…” The rapper raised an eyebrow and the vendor sighed. “I couldn’t just tell him the real reason.”

“That’s true.” He agreed and the vendor thought we would stop there. But Hyojong took a shot of soju and continued. “You still lied, though.”

“I…” The younger paused, distressed. “Look, I hate uni. That’s true, even if I just realized after telling him that. And I just couldn’t turn to him and say ‘Oh, I stopped hanging out with you and Yuto because I fell in love with both of you!’”

“So, that’s the reason....” Hwitaek said while sitting down beside Hyojong, taking both of the other two by surprise.

“What are you doing here?” The rapper asked him, in awe.

“I finished another set of songs and the night looked nice.” He answered before making his order to Wooseok. While the vendor prepared, Hyojong turned to the producer.

“Who are you and what did you do to my Hui?” He asked, suspicious, making the other laugh.

“Stop being, silly, Hyojong.” Wooseok served him and Hwitaek smiled at him, grateful. “Everybody acts like I live holed up in the studio. I don’t.” He seemed to be trying to convince the vendor, so he just nodded. "Anyway, I didn’t want to give Hyojong’s theory credit but apparently he was right.” The rapper rolled his eyes and the producer ate a bit before continuing. “Look, Wooseok, love is messy. Your heart is not going to do what you want it to do. Sometimes it falls for people you think are right for you, sometimes it won’t. And that’s normal.”

“He is right, y’know?” Hyojong confirmed and tried to steal a bit of the other’s food, even though his plate still had some food left. Hwitaek beat his hand with his chopsticks and sighed.

“Take me and Hyojong, for example. Would ever think that we are soulmates?” His question took Wooseok completely aback. He never had thought about that, but suddenly he could see it, even though he was smarter than to say that to the producer.

“Of course, he would!” The rapper exclaimed and Hwitaek made a sign for him to be quiet.

“We didn’t fall in love as people expected.” The producer continued, while eating. “Growing up, having your soulmate close is great. You have all those firsts with someone that understands you on a deeper level than anyone else. And, don’t get me wrong, you do feel attracted to them on some level, I just don’t think it is only in a romantic way like people say.” He smiled at the vendor again, which made him feel weirdly calmer. “I’m no magic specialist, though. Just talking from my own experience.” He, then, drank a bit of Hyojong’s soju. “Anyway, I’m saying all of these because love isn’t predictable. So you don’t need to feel guilty for liking who you like.”

“If they are a consenting adult, that is…” The rapper added and Hwitaek nodded, agreeing.

“That’s important…” He, then, turned to the other. “But that’s not Wooseok’s case.”

“I know... I just like reinforcing that.” The music producer rolled his eyes and got ready to retort, but the vendor took the chance to cut in.

“But they’re already together…” His tone made the other two turn to him, pity on his eyes. “I have no right to get in the middle.” Hwitaek opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hyojong affirmed and the other turned to him, desperation in his face. “But you are also giving yourself no credit. Have you ever thought they can like you back? Or that they can at least accept you and help you get over your feelings?” He made a pause. “You’re also not giving them any credit.”

“I hate when you are right…” The producer commented before turning back to Wooseok. “Hyunggu is the nicest, most affectionate human being on this planet. If you are worried about him hating you, he is incapable of it.”

“And Yuto, just for dating him and being his soulmate, can’t be that different, can he?” The rapper asked him, who lowered his head, embarrassed by the tears that were threatening to fall down his eyes.

“Hyojong, he is a softy just like them…” Hwitaek whispered to the rapper while the vendor turned around, sniffing.

“I told you…” The other responded and they gave time for Wooseok to recover, before changing the subject.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello,  
> I hope you guys enjoyed the "Hongseok spends a whole morning talking about being whipped for Jinho and Wooseok finds out Hui and Dawn are soulmates" chapter.  
> Basically, this chapter is very similar to the last one but it touches on a different subject from what been happening. And yes, Wooseok still has some conversations left to figure out what he's going to do.  
> Again, thank you for all the hits and kudos, and see you next week.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absorbing people's wisdom is never the easiest thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go on another update. Enjoy!

During the rest of that night, Wooseok heard what Hwitaek and Hyojong could say to help him. It was mostly about him going after what he wanted, both in his personal and professional life, making the vendor feel reassured for having met people that could support him like this. The next morning, he allowed himself a little break from his negative thoughts and feelings, taking most of his strength for that from what his friends had told him. It felt weird, somehow, thinking that from all that was happening, he gained something nice as new friends. But he couldn’t call them any other way now, not after they all came out of their way to, at least, try to talk to him. He still, however, had no courage to seek after Yuto or Hyunggu, and thinking about them made him realize that there was one person in his life that would listen to him with all the love and patience in the world. Wooseok left his house and turned around the corner to walk the few blocks there were between his parents and his grandmother’s house, feeling a bit stupid for not even thinking about talking to her before. He knocked on her door a few times before the old woman came out, looking as strong and wise as always.

“Wooseokie, what are you doing here?” She asked as soon as she opened the front door. His grandmother didn’t even reach his shoulder but the vendor still hugged her, putting his head over her shoulder. “Hey, hey, what’s going on?” The old woman asked again, getting worried while patting his head. Her grandson only acted like that when he was feeling very distressed. Wooseok let go of her with tears in his eyes and she brought him inside. “Shouldn’t you be in class now?” They sat on the dining table in her kitchen and the question only made his tears go down with force. The grandmother cupped his face and cleaned a few of them between his sobs.

“I can’t go there anymore, grandma…” He whispered, ashamed for finally admitting defeat.

“Of course, you can’t, you silly boy…” She said, harshly. “I told you it was a bad idea, going to university. People like us, Wooseok, belong in the streets, serving people good food. Her tone, then, softened down while she observed the boy's seemly endless tears. “Did you eat breakfast yet?” The boy denied and she let go of him so that she could cook something. He observed her, still feeling the tears falling down his cheeks. “You remember Junghwan, right?” The woman asked him while taking some eggs and cooked sea-food from the fridge. “He used to come by the stand, stressed out of his mind because he hated computers, and liked baking cookies more. So I told him exactly what I just told you. And now look at him, assistant chef in that fancy Gangman bakery.” She took out a big frying pan from a cabinet and worked very quickly to make some haemul pajeon. “There was this one night when he ate five portions of tteokbokki in twenty minutes. I thought he was going to choke.”

“He did that once with me…” Wooseok commented, voice very weak.

“He did?” His grandmother asked him while serving him. “What trouble did he get himself into now?” She had put the pancakes on the table, with some side dishes and a bowl of fresh rice, before sitting with him.

“Some relationship problems…” He answered vaguely while stating to eat.

“Really? I thought that it was Sunwoo’s specialty!” The old lady laughed from her own joke and Wooseok forced himself to give her a smile, which didn’t go unnoticed by her. “As soon as you finish eating, you are going to tell me everything that is happening in that little dramatic head of yours.” The vendor gulped, anxious, but still did as she said. His grandmother listened to him attentively and didn't interrupt until he was finished. “Oh, Wooseok. I don’t see anything wrong with you or your life.” The boy opened his mouth to protest but closed it noticing that she hadn’t finished yet. “Yes, you didn't make the greatest choice you could in high school. And you chose a harder path to love than most people. But there’s nothing wrong with that.” She reached over the table and took one of her grandson’s giant hands in hers. “And those boys seem lovely, Seokie. Even if they don’t return your feelings, they would never turn their backs to you. And if they do, well, it’s because they aren’t meant to be in your life. Just like Economics wasn’t.”

“But grandma….” The vendor protested, weakly.

“You’re still young, Wooseok. Everything seems a lot harder and bigger in your age because is the first time you are going through them.” She then sighed and retrieved her hands. “Also your parents overprotected you from the world. You would be struggling a lot more if you hadn’t started to work at the stand with me.”

“So what should I do?” He asked, again with a weak voice.

“That’s not for me to tell you, Seok-ah. It’s your life after all.” His grandmother gave him a warm smile. “But if you want any piece of advice, what I can say is this: There’s nothing wrong in changing directions.” Wooseok nodded and then turned his face, to avoid looking at her.

“What about Hyunggu and Yuto?” The vendor felt his ears and cheeks burning and crossed his arms over his chest to ground himself from the embarrassment.

“Talk to them, child.” The old lady said, first seriously just to laugh after, because the boy was starting to look very red. “Look at me now…” She said, softly and Wooseok turned back. “I know opening up and feeling vulnerable is scary, but you owe this to them and yourself.”

The boy nodded again, still absorbing what his grandmother had said. It was a lot and she wasn’t necessarily the most sugar coating grandma out there, saying what she needed to say to help who sought her advice. Since he was already there, he ended up helping her going to the traditional market. They went back home around lunchtime and Wooseok could eat her cooking again, which would always taste different and more heart-warmingly than his, even if he was following her exact recipe. That had been one of his biggest worries when assuming the tteokbokki stand, but only he and his grandmother could feel the difference.

Spending the day with her had a positive impact on the vendor and by sunset, he had already had come to a decision. He would withdraw for a while, to at least, think about properly if he would continue at university or not. Because maybe he could use what he was (supposed to be) learning for his own business. That idea had come from one of his grandmother’s jokes, saying that he should stay at university to transform their humble stand on a tteokbokki empire. It was the kind of thing that seemed ridiculous for the old lady, but it was something possible for him. Not the empire part, but growing the business to the point where their stand could become an actual restaurant.

Wooseok would need some time to think about it and to also look to someone that he could talk seriously about it. After all, he wasn’t getting the motivation to go from almost dropping out to becoming a diligent student in a week. And it was a good thing that he had come to a decision, even if a temporary while setting the stand that night because the movement was crazy. The vendor didn’t stop until it was almost closing time and couldn’t even give Hyojong any attention. By the profit he had made that night, he thought about closing up earlier but he knew he wasn’t there just to make money. His grandmother hadn’t closed earlier in the many decades she had run the stand and he wouldn’t either. Not when their objective was to help people through food.

“Hmmm, hello?” He heard suddenly while taking his first water break for the night. Wooseok had been in the back of the stand and ran inside again to attend to the client, only to end up being faced by Jinho. “Oh, Wooseok-ssi, right?” The older and shorter man, said, almost certain.

“Yes, Jinho-ssi.” He answered, a turmoil of emotions inside of him. “No wonder this neighborhood seemed a bit familiar…” The other commented while sitting down at the counter. “Just couldn’t place it as the same from that night.” The last phrase was said in the same way as the rest, but Jinho’s face gained a light pink. “How have you been?”

“I’m…” The vendor started and paused, not knowing what to say. “Haven’t you heard?” He ended up asking and the older looked confused for a while.

“Oh, it’s you who made Hyunggu worried?” He finally concluded and Wooseok nodded, making him giggle. “Sorry, I had no idea. That kid has too many friends and gets too preoccupied with all of them.” That felt like a knife had been thrown into his heart, but the vendor remembered what his grandmother had said. A rejection only meant that the person wasn’t meant to be in his life. “And I also have been too busy to hear the details.” Jinho, then, ordered and while the younger got his food ready, he continued to talk. “Since the last part I lost to Jaehwan, I’ve been taking a lot more vocal students to make up for it.” Wooseok served him, in silence, not sure of what he could say. “It’s the reason I’m around this area. One of my new students lives here and kept me there until now.” He smiled at him, however. “Good thing you are here or I wouldn’t have eaten tonight. I get too tired when I get home to even make ramyun.” Jinho didn’t talk while eating and it was enough for Wooseok to fully feel the whole gratefulness he was feeling for the older's words. It, again, had made him feel like that was his place in the world.

“Thank you, Jinho-ssi…” The vendor blurted out when the other was almost finished. Jinho looked at him, inquisitive and he blushed, for having said that out loud. “Today was a rough night and you made it all worth it.” The other got surprised and also blushed, embarrassed by his nice words.

“You don’t need to thank me…” He raised his hands, trying to relieve the awkward atmosphere. “I was just… I’m lazy, okay…” The older stumbled over his words and it made the vendor understand why he and Hongseok fitted so well together in Hyunggu's eyes. Remembering, then, the postgraduate student’s long speech about why Jinho would turn him down, Wooseok decided that may be playing from the other side would work better.

“You’re cute, Jinho-ssi…” The younger said, gathering all of his boldness, making the older get so red that he looked like he could explode any moment. “I see why Hongseok hyung likes you…” He commented and the other’s chin went down in shock.

“You…” Jinho had to breathe deeply a few times to complete his question. “You said Hongseok?” The vendor nodded and suddenly was like the older was hyperventilating. The younger got him a glass of water, which he drank very quickly. “What do you mean?” His voice was stranded when he talked again.

“Oh, he spent a whole morning talking about how cute and pretty you are, Jinho-ssi.” Wooseok watched Jinho become impossibly redder. “Too bad he feels too insecure to make a move.” He said, in a way that seemed like he didn’t realize he wasn’t supposed to say any of this.

“Insecure? Hongseok?” The older asked, disoriented. “Are you sure we are talking about the same Yang Hongseok?” He asked again and the younger nodded, making Jinho’s expression become one of full desperation. “How does that greek god feels insecure about anything?” His voice pitched and he looked like he was hyperventilating again.

“Dunno, Jinho-ssi. I thought that same thing.” Wooseok retort and waited for the older to recover.

When he finally did, the vendor could listen to all of the other side of Jinho and Hongseok timid dance around each other. Of how their texts would make some of the older’s day. Of how he kept stalking the other’s social media, especially the posts in the gym. Of how their schedules magically worked around each other. Of how Jinho wanted to fall asleep every night in Hongseok’s strong arms and kiss those full lips. And of how much he just wanted to stare at his small eyes and be the reason for his squared smile. It all made Wooseok soft inside, especially because he understood everything the older was saying. And in double. The problem was that, differently from Jinho, who left the stand a bit drunk and decisive about making the first move, the vendor couldn’t make any moves. He had to be honest and hope for Hyunggu and Yuto acceptance without any judgment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, god, I almost cried while revising this chapter. Hope everyone is doing okay after it.  
> I had a lot of fun writing Wooseok's grandma, she is the wicked old lady that everyone should have in their lives.  
> Now we only have the Big Talk left and I'm quite nervous about it.  
> Again, I hope everyone is enjoying the story and see you guys on the day of the comeback (if I survive it)!
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some talks are very hard, but they make things better than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comeback day, update day. Enjoy!

It took Wooseok a few days to go to campus to start the withdrawal procedures. First, he had to convince his parents, who were not very happy about it but didn’t try to stop him. Then he needed to gather a few documents and the courage to actually go there. But the relief he felt afterward was immense. Just knowing that he didn’t have to worry about classes until the end of the semester was enough for the vendor to feel good about himself. And he took his bravery a bit further and walked to the Psychology institute to inform himself about the counseling project Changgu had told him about. He also left that place feeling very proud of himself and hopeful that things would get better from now on.

That, however, meant talking with Yuto and Hyunggu and that still scared the shit out of him. And again, it took him a few more days to gather the courage to reach out. He ended up going to Yuto’s dorm in an afternoon he knew both didn’t have class and the probability of them being there was big. Hyunggu was the one that opened the door after he knocked a few times and the smile he gave Wooseok was enough to make him feel terrified of what he was there to do. The dancer invited the vendor promptly to come inside, beaming that he was there.

“I’m so happy you are here, Wooseokie…” He started, making the other sit on Yuto’s bed and clinging to him as soon as he did. “I was so worried. And missed you so much.” Hyunggu pouted at him and the vendor wanted to kiss until it became that smile the other had given him while opening the door.

“I’m sorry…” Wooseok whispered since he couldn’t do what he wanted. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Ah, it’s okay…” Hyunggu smiled again and the vendor released a relieved sigh he didn’t know he was holding. “The important thing is that you are here.” The dancer hugged him tighter before letting go of him completely. “Do you know that Yuto kept saying that you would come to talk to us when you were ready?” He asked and Wooseok denied, even though he knew. “I didn’t believe it at the time, but I’m so happy he was right.”

“Where…” The vendor started, trying to change the subject a bit. “Where is he?” He managed to ask, stuttering.

“Showering…” The dancer commented, suddenly blushing while his expression became smug. “We were, you know?” He asked, tone full implying.

“Oh, my…” Wooseok got up, distressed, and making a face that Hyunggu interpreted as disgust because he started giggling from his reaction.

“Sit down....” The other said, still giggling. “We didn’t do it on the bed.” The vendor sat down again, blushing like he never had before.

“I don’t need to know about stuff like that, Hyunggu…” Wooseok whined and Hyunggu’s laugh became louder.

“Sorry, sorry…” He smiled and the vendor sighed. Details like these were exactly what he didn’t need at that moment, but now he knew his mind would curiously wonder about where they had sex and go on from there. He couldn’t afford those kinds of distractions at the moment.

“Hyunggu…” They suddenly heard and Yuto entered the bedroom, drying his hair on a towel. What he was saying got completely lost when he saw Wooseok there and his reaction was more of relief than anything else. The Japanese walked to them and put a comforting hand on the vendor’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Wooseokie.” Time seemed to stop while he melted inside by the nickname. Somehow, with all the stunts he had put to avoid the couple, they still accepted him back with all this care. The vendor only hoped it lasted after long what he had to say.

“I have something important to say....” The vendor broke the moment and both Yuto’s and Hyunggu’s expressions became serious.

“Us too…” Hyunggu whispered and exchanged a look with his boyfriend. “But you should go first.” He smiled quickly and it didn’t reach his face fully like it usually did. The Japanese, then, retrieved his hand from Wooseok and went over his desk, carrying the chair back to bed, where he sat in front of the other two. The vendor breathed deeply a few times and the dancer put a grounding hand on his thigh.

“Take how long you need, Seokie,” Yuto said, smiling nervously at him and the vendor swelled over the nickname.

“The reason…” He started, lowering his head. He wouldn’t be able to confess looking at any of them. Breathing deeply one last time, he continued. “The reason why I was avoiding you two…”

“Wait!” The dancer exclaimed and Yuto looked furious at him. “You said you weren’t….” His voice had become sadder and it broke Wooseok’s heart.

“Hyunggu…” The boyfriend called and he turned to him, pouting. “Let him finish.” The pout grew and he crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed. The Japanese, then, raised the vendor’s chin carefully, revealing the tears that had started coming down his eyes. “You can go on…” He said, softly, and gave him a comforting smile.

“I didn’t lie…” Wooseok pledged, desperately staring at Yuto’s soft eyes. “I was actually having a hard time with classes. I had no motivation to go to them and not going to them made more sense to me than going.” The vendor turned to Hyunggu, in spring of courage and was met with concerned eyes. “But that wasn’t the first reason…” The dancer got closer to him and put a hand on the middle of his back.

“It’s okay…” The dancer whispered, empathetic. “Yuto tried to warn me that something else was happening, but I got so relieved that it wasn’t my fault…”

“It’s not your fault…” Yuto and Wooseok said at the same time and it made them exchange looks and it made the Japanese make a signal for the other to go on. “It’s not your fault that I fell in love with you, Hyunggu.” He said, looking down again. “With both of you.” The room felt quiet for long torturous minutes. Because he was keeping his head down, Wooseok missed the wide eyes Yuto had from the surprise and Hyunggu covering his mouth with both hands. The couple also exchanged looks, not knowing how to recover from the shock.

“Are you sure, Wooseokie?” The dancer ended up whispering to him and the vendor only nodded, starting to cry again. Hyunggu looked back at his boyfriend, who seemed completely paralyzed. “I should, then, tell you….” He started, stammering. “What we had to say….” He looked again at Yuto and the Japanese was panicking while not moving. “Don’t make me do this alone!” The dancer whined, but the Japanese still didn’t move.

“It’s ok…” The vendor said voice strangled between sniffs. “I wasn’t expecting anything different.” He, then, raised his head and gave the couple a sad smile. “I just hope we can be friends again in the future…”

“We don’t want to be friends!” Yuto exclaimed, panic clear on his voice. That broke Wooseok’s heart completely and he started to get up while Hyunggu looked angry at his boyfriend.

“Yuto!” He scolded and the Japanese cursing under his breath, while the vendor turned to leave. “Wooseok, wait.” The dancer caught his hand, making the other look at him fully crying again. “That wasn’t what he meant.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t.” He said after Hyunggu turned to him, extremely annoyed. “Well, it is, but not how you think.” The vendor turned to him, confused.

“Can you sit down just for a bit more?” The dancer used his biggest puppy eyes and Wooseok sat down again. The couple exchanged looks again and, after a few more minutes of nervous silence, he continued. “What we mean is that we like you back.” The words came out softly and the vendor couldn’t believe his ears. He turned from Hyunggu to Yuto and back again, both just nodding to him.

“What?” He asked, loudly. “How? When?”

“Well…” The dancer started. “For Yuto started that night you called him Yuyu.” Hyunggu smiled, fond. “He called me so impressed by how cute you were…” His face, then, darkened a bit. “I admit I felt a bit jealous. The nickname was my thing, but he seemed so happy that I pushed down and let him be. After all, you are the first friend he made by himself in Korea. I couldn’t deny him that.”

“From there on…” Yuto cut in, voice bolder that his face. “It was just downhill. I noticed how handsome you are. And your big hands….” Hyunggu gave him a desperate face and he continued, embarrassed. “But, then, you started disappearing and I just missed you. Your silly jokes, awkward pauses, cool personality, cute outbursts....” The Japanese looked fondly at Wooseok, who had managed to stop crying and was now blushing. “I also didn’t know the same was happening with Hyunggu.”

“I was so worried that I kept talking about you.” The dancer chuckled, also embarrassed. “I had no idea why you were gone and thought that I had done something to make you uncomfortable. Both of you are so shy and quiet that I thought you didn’t like meeting all my friends.”

“I did….” The vendor said, genuinely. “They are very cool.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Hyunggu’s smile became soft and he reached for Woosoek’s hand. “But then you told me about your struggle with uni and I thought things would go back to normal, even if you skipped a few classes.” The vendor felt a squeeze on his hand. “But they weren’t and people around me started telling they had met up with you and I just got mad. Why would you talk to them and not us? Why not me?” His anger seemed to linger a bit while he talked but it was over when Wooseok turned to him. “At the same time, Yuto would come out of classes in a totally different mood if you had been there or not, even if he didn’t manage to talk to you, and I just couldn’t get it. Why was I the only one who couldn't look at your pretty face?” The dancer chuckled again. “That was supposed to be my first warning sign, but I just realized that I had fallen for you by the 56th time Yanan hyung asked why I was so caught up on you.” He, then, turned to his boyfriend and finished. “That same night I talked to Yuto about it. We had promised we would always talk about it if something like this happened and…” Hyunggu turned back to Wooseok. “I was so relieved he was feeling the same way I was.”

“I don’t know what to say…” The vendor said, after absorbing everything he had heard. 

“It’s ok….” Yuto commented while reaching for both his hand and Hyunggu’s. “We have all the time of the world to talk and figure this out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I wasn't going to do this, but why not?  
> This has become a double update, so I'm not gonna talk much on this one.  
> Just want to thank everyone for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting.  
> See you in a few minutes.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Endings always bring new beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one was expecting a double update, but here it is.  
> Blame it on the perfect album Ptg dropped today.  
> I hope everyone enjoys the last chapter!

Wooseok didn’t leave Yuto’s dorm that night, talking to the couple. It was very late when they had finished telling each other about all the feelings and things that had happened during the time they were apart. Hyunggu and Yuto also shared a few of the research they had made about polyamorous relationships, including the effects it could have over soulmates. The vendor had to admit that Hyojong telling him about it had been the catalyst of his behavior and the dancer wanted to fight the older at 2 am, which the other two convinced him not to do. However, that wasn’t the biggest shock of their talk, because at some point Yuto told Wooseok about the inside joke the couple had about their soulmate mark. 

Apparently, after meeting online, they thought that the drawing in traditional Korean style of mountains and a waterfall in the middle of their backs represented each other, Yuto being the mountain and Hyunggu, the waterfall. But when the Japanese moved to Korea, a faded night sky started to appear and they started joking that it was their love. The vendor became very disturbed while hearing that but couldn’t explain exactly why to the other two. So in a very bold moment, he raised his shirt and showed them his own soulmate mark, now with every detail in place. The three boys needed at least half an hour to recover, only then to check if the three drawings were exactly the same.

“Well, we weren’t wrong,” Hyunggu said, grinning from ear to ear, between both Yuto and Wooseok’s arms.

“Of course we were…” The Japanese retorted. “The night sky was Wooseok.”

“I know…” The dancer said, giving the vendor a small kiss on the cheek. “And he is our love.”

The tallest blushed very hard, while complaining about Hyunguu’s cheesiness, while the other only laughed. That moment was the happiest they had been in months and somehow, any happiness that they had felt before, didn’t compare with the one they were feeling now. Still, it took them time to adjust. Since it was Wooseok’s first romantic relationship, they decided to take it slow, according to what felt natural to the vendor. So, except for a few pecks and a more heated kiss shared with Hyunggu, it was like their friendship before. They would hang out alone or with other friends and Yuto went back to help Wooseok on the stand. Everything, however, felt new to them and they enjoyed it while they could.

Their friends caught on very quickly that something had changed, but only Hyojong guessed it correctly. He made a huge scene on the first night the Japanese appeared at the stand again, that Wooseok had to threaten to break both of his legs in a very convincing impersonation of Yanan and the rapper stopped because he couldn’t laugh and embarrass the other two at the same time. He, then, started to ask very indecent and graphic questions about their relationship and the vendor expelled him for the night. His behavior made the boys realize that they would have to tell their friends eventually and Hyunggu ended up inviting everyone to another group hangout at the stand.

On the night of the hangout, Wooseok and Yuto left their tables ready close to the stand and waited for the boys to start appearing. The first ones were Yanan and Changgu and they looked a lot happier than the vendor had ever seen them. Not even ten minutes later, Shinwon got there with Hwitaek and Hyojong and they talked to the couple at the table like they were childhood friends. It looked like the closeness Wooseok felt about the other boys was the same they felt for each other. A bit later, Hyunggu appeared alone, coming straight from practice, and it took the vendor all of his self-control not to peck his lips as Yuto had done. The dancer noticed and whispered later to him before going to sit with their friends. With only Jinho and Hongseok missing, they started their night and the vendor could mostly stay at their table since he only had a handful of other clients to serve.

“So, Wooseokie…” Shinwon called him out of nowhere. “What did you do about uni?”

“I…” The vendor paused, noticing everyone’s attention on him. “I withdraw for the rest of the semester. Gonna think about it during this time.”

“That’s smart, kid,” Hyojong said, between shots of soju.

“And the other thing seemed to have worked it out…” Hwiteak commented and a few confused faces turned from him to Wooseok, making him very embarrassed.

“Better than you think, hyung,” Hyunggu said, taking everyone by surprise by getting up. “I was going to wait for Jinho and Hongseok hyung, but…” He then put one hand at Wooseok’s shoulder and the other on Yuto’s. “We are together now.” There were a few seconds of silence before chaos went loose. Hyojong had a knowing smug while Yanan and Shinwon kept asking the dancer what he meant. Changgu, however, started a speech for no one in particular about non-traditional relationships and Hwitaek only asked both the other two if what Hyunggu had said was true. Jinho and Hongseok got there in the middle of their explanation and the dancer went back to the beginning for them, getting boos and protests.

“So, I have one question…” Shinwon said after the dancer finished and the youngest felt cold sweat going down his back, knowing that his oldest friend would not shy away from intrusive questions. But then he turned to Jinho and Hongseok. “Why did you two came together?” Yuto sighed, relieved while everyone turned to them, who got very embarrassed in the process.

“We are dating…” Hongseok said, a bit low, and had to repeat a few times because the other boys kept saying they couldn’t hear him.

They also ended up telling how they got together. After the talk Jinho had with Wooseok, he texted Hongseok, asking him if he wanted to hang out in person. The younger loved the idea but it took them a bit of time to find a breach in both of their schedules. They went to Hongseok’s favorite chicken restaurant and got a bit drunk, which made the younger feel brave and stupid enough to kiss Jinho’s cheek. On the same night, they confessed to each other and after a few days, they were dating. But only recently they had found out they were soulmates, during an incident where the older had stepped on a puddle and wet the hem of his pants. He ended up rolling it over his ankles and Hongseok recognized the sparrow lodged there. They all congratulated the people in new relationships, in the middle of the teasing that was a bit obligatory. Once more, Woosoek felt like he could count with the other boys, even if just for laughing together, and hoped he could call them friends for the rest of his life, like he wanted to call Yuto and Hyunggu his for the same amount of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is guys, the last chapter.  
> I'm really happy about how this story turned out. I feel like I managed to do what I set myself to and I can't help but feel very proud of it.  
> I also hope everyone enjoyed Wooseok's soulmate journey, with all the ups and downs.  
> And what a fitting day to finish this fic. Daisy is amazing and I hope we can finally give our boys their 1st win.  
> Anyway, I talked too much again.  
> Thank you to everyone who read, gave kudos, bookmarked, and commented. It makes me feel like I'm on the right track.  
> And anyone is welcomed to read the other parts of the series.  
> Okay, see you guys.
> 
> I'm lowkey reclusive in social media, but you can find me at [@lookspatricia](https://twitter.com/lookspatricia) and [lookslikepatricia](https://lookslikepatricia.tumblr.com/).


End file.
